Something Like That
by RaveyRai
Summary: "Don't knock such possibilities before even giving me the benefit of the doubt. Sleeping with me would be a magical experience…for your benefit of course." "You're an ass." "Hee, haw."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** What am I doing? I have not the time to be doing this.

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><p><strong>Disclaimer:<strong> I do not own the characters of TVD. I do own one/two in this story however.

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><p><strong>A New Threat<strong>

"**B**onzers! Heller!"

Bonnie jumped with a start, her stress balls falling to the ground due to the immediate lack of concentration during her meditation. She did this to calm her nerves. Humans squeezed stress balls to relieve themselves; witches made them levitate while squeezing them simultaneously with their mind. It was like taking and releasing deep breaths. And now that she lost her sense of meditation she went back to being anxious. She wasn't sure where the anxiety came from but perhaps it was nature's way of telling her that something unpleasant was going to transpire.

The young adult stared at her front door of her small apartment before the interrupter of her peace and solitude started knocking loudly again, "Boonnzerrkkiieee!"

"I'm coming!" She raised her hand and unlocked her door, letting it fly open to let her fellow witch friend in.

"Did I interrupt something?" The woman waltzed in with a box of books that smelled of age. Her long braids were pulled up into a messy, and seemingly heavy bun while the loose braids stopped at the small of her back.

Bonnie narrowed her eyes slightly, despite the grin on her brown face, "You can't tell, Taylor?"

Taylor rolled her deep brown eyes and waved Bonnie off, "With _you_? There's no telling but hey look, I found some old books at a thrift store. They're in Latin. Fun, fun, _fun."_

"They're Grimoires?" Bonnie asked, turning back to face her blank television that she used occasionally. She wasn't much for watching TV. Sitting with her legs folded and her hands in her lap, she went back to focusing. She didn't bother clearing her mind. Having Taylor in the vicinity would prove that impossible to do.

"Not sure yet. I just love old books."

"You're such a thrift-shopaholic," Bonnie mused, her stress balls floating about her.

Taylor huffed, setting the box down on Bonnie's table and glaring at the balls. One after the other flew across the room, "At _least_ I enjoy my money."

"We don't make much with our little Paranormal Investigation business so I'm sure you don't have money to blow," Bonnie regarded Taylor, bringing the stress balls back around her.

"You're wrong though," Taylor opened a book and skimmed through the pages. "I dance."

"What?" Bonnie lost her train of focus, gaping at the other witch. "Like…_stripping_?"

Taylor snorted, "No. Go-Go dancing."

"Difference?"

"Oh," Taylor sat the first book down and picked up a thinner one, her brows furrowing towards the more experienced witch, challenging her, "I know that tone. That's the 'I'm judging you Tae, you know you can do better' tone. Should I sit down to better prepare myself for an unnecessary lecture?"

Bonnie opened her mouth to retort but decided against it.

Taylor seemed satisfied, continuing her skimming of her new books. The two fell silent for a minute before Bonnie spoke again, "When did you start?"

"Start what?"

"You know what."

"Dancing? A couple of weeks back."

"…well…as long as you're careful…" Bonnie turned back around. After a moment she turned to Taylor again, frowning, "You know vampires are attracted to places like that…right?"

"That's for every night intended joint in the world Bonnie. I know. In fact—I think it's a splendid opportunity. At least while I'm there I'm staking out for vampires and…ridding them if they step out of line," Taylor seemed pleased with herself. It sounded as though she had done it once or twice in those couple of weeks.

"I know you're an adult…but I'm just concerned. That's all."

Taylor smiled to Bonnie, finishing the last book she brought in, "You wouldn't be Bonnie if you weren't concerned. _Anyways—_Do we have any new cases?"

"Nope."

"Oh that's dreadful. We should advertise more."

"We're in the phonebooks…"

"Bonnie. No. No one uses _phonebooks_ anymore. My _God._ Are we not on the nets? Tell me we're on the nets."

Bonnie frowned, "…"

"Oh this business of ours is going into shambles."

"Na-unh! Taylor! Be more supportive!"

"Supportive is not getting us anywhere. I'm being honest."

"Well I don't need your honesty at the moment."

"I think you do Ms. Bennett," Taylor pulled out a seat and reopened a book, furrowing her brows, "And you have the nerve to judge me dancing? _Disappointed._"

"I just don't want to make it _that_ easy for our…enemies…to find us. We're using my small apartment for the business Tae. Of course I'm a bit hesitant on giving my house phone and address for the world, wide, web to see."

Taylor shrugged, "You have the power of a hundred witches. I don't think your _enemies_ would want to even bother being in the same building as you, let alone your apartment, anyways."

"It just doesn't hurt to be careful," Bonnie huffed, making it clear that that was the end of that conversation, refocusing on her stress balls.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Taylor rebutted lamely.

After a couple of moments, Taylor brought up a simple, "You're already in the phonebooks…real name _and_ business name. And you can google your number online…and still be found."

"Shut up Taylor."

"I'm just saying—"

"Okay, okay, conversation over."

And like a cue, there was a harsh knocking at the door. The two women exchanged looks before the knocking continued, more loudly than the first.

Taylor focused on the door, squinting slightly, "Dark…deadly aura…."

Bonnie stood to her feet, approaching the door, "Anything else you can pick up?"

"Bon-Bon…open up and let me in~"

"…Damon?"

"Who?" Taylor sat up more alert. "You know him?"

Bonnie swallowed excess saliva before biting down on her bottom lip. She then, for a second, debated on whether or not she should answer the door or not. She put a spell on her home to make sure that no one, including those of the supernatural, could hear that she was inside or not. This, included Damon Salvatore.

"_So_ predictable. I know you're there, witch."

She opened her door with defiance but making sure she didn't cross the threshold, "Damon."

He hadn't changed a bit. That wasn't saying much either…considering he's still a bloodsucker.

He mirrored her, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe with that familiar cocky smirk of his, "Bonnie~"

"What do you want? And how did you find me?"

"We," he pointed at her and then to himself, "Have a connection. Where ever you go, I follow."

"Bull."

He shrugged his shoulders, "I have my ways."

"I told you," Taylor called as she got up from the table and stood behind Bonnie to examine Damon. She whistled before continuing with her previous statement, "Your name being in the phonebo—"

"Don't rub it in," Bonnie looked back at Damon, that anxious feeling reminding her it was still present. It must have tried to warn her about her old…semi-ally.

"Can't I come in?" Damon asked pleasantly, his charm evident and sure.

"No. You can tell me what you want right where you're at."

He gave her an exasperated sigh, rolling his eyes for extra emphasis on how annoyed he already was, "You _can't_ be serious. After—what—_five_ years you _still_ can't trust me?"

"Do I need to remind you that you nearly killed me once? That alone gives me enough reason to be a bit cautious of letting you in my apartment. You _do_ have a tendency to trespass."

"Oh get over it."

Bonnie raised a brow, "Normal people don't get over almost getting killed, Damon."

"That's just it," he widened his eyes at her with a smirk, "you're not like 'normal people'. Now, please, let me in."

"No."

Damon glared at her, "Bonnie. I'm serious."

"And what makes you think I'm not?"

"Bonnie, you trusted me with your life. Decades' Dance ring any bells?"

Bonnie's jaw tightened, her head rising slightly as she held his intense stare. Taylor opened her mouth, "You entrusted him with your _life_, Bonnie? A _vampire_?"

"And you are…?"

"Taylor Borne. Pleased to meet you."

"Another witch?"

Taylor nodded, giving a coy grin of her own as she turned on her heel to get back to her books, "That's right. Another one."

"Before you leave me here with this impossible woman, could _you_ convince her to let me in?"

Taylor looked at him from over her shoulder, "I could _try_. But I'm sure you know Bonnie better than I do…if she made her decision to talk to you through the doorway then…that's just the way it's going to be hm?"

Damon rolled his eyes, turning back to Bonnie, "We're above this. You have this place soundproof right? Whether you're secretly enjoying this little banter in your judgy, holier-than-thou brain of yours or not, I can't tell you what's the problem out here. So, _please_. Just let me in."

Truth was, she did enjoy poking fun at the fact that she had the power to invite him in or not. He hadn't changed a bit, but according to him, though he didn't have to outwardly say it, she hadn't changed much either. That kind of bothered her.

Bonnie let out a breath, "No funny 'Damon' business of any kind. You do _not_ put a violent hand on Taylor what-so-ever, and you can't pull an Edward Cullen and drop in my room at random to watch me sleep or wait for me in the dark or—"

"The fact that you would even _suggest_ that I would act like such a pathetic wimp of a vampire is offensive," Damon interrupted, glaring.

Bonnie shrugged before stepping aside, "You can come in."

"_Thank you,"_ Damon said dramatically as he walked in and took a look around.

"So Mr…" Taylor tapped her chin in thought, "Salvatore… is it? What brings you here?"

"No offense but I'm wanting Bonnie's help, and Bonnie's help only. I don't trust strangers right away."

Taylor chuckled, "Fair enough."

She stood, ready to go into Bonnie's room before she stopped her, "No, stay. _I_ trust you."

"Not surprised," Damon muttered under his breath before he plopped on Bonnie's sofa and looked up at the woman.

"So what do you want Damon?"

"I need your help."

Bonnie raised a brow, "And out of everyone you chose _me_…to help _you_?"

His eyes didn't leave her form, "I'm taking that as a 'no'."

"I didn't—I was only wondering."

Damon sat up, "If I came to you, looked all over for you, that means I need you. I'm not like the others that decides that whenever shit hits the fan, go to the local witch. You're capable of helping me…and you're one of the few I trust. You and I can fix this…just say you'll help me."

"_In-tense~…" _Taylor sing-songed under her breath.

That's Damon. He was always intense.

"What is it Damon?"

"I'm being haunted."

"Again?"

"Well…yeah. But you know how Katherine was a doppelganger and Elena is her doppelganger?"

"…yeah…?"

"Well, the original…Katherine look-a-like…the one before Katherine…is the one haunting me."

Bonnie blinked, stunned, "Oh…"

"And she's a witch."

"…_oh…_"

"That's psycho and wants to kill all that is supernatural while having 'the life she never got the chance to live'…in other words she's trying to come back to life."

"That's _impossible._ That would require dark magic," Taylor mused.

Damon lounged back, "Yeah. She said that. But she thinks since there's Katherine and Elena out there she can just take over one of their bodies…forever."

Bonnie's throat grew dry.

"And she's preferring Elena's…" Damon started.

"…Because Katherine is a vampire and nature won't allow for a vampire to also be a witch…Elena is human…therefore she can still have her powers…" Bonnie finished.

"Bingo, Sabrina."

"Why didn't you just tell me that Elena was in _danger_?" Yet, _again_. "I was wasting time arguing with you about inviting you in we could have already made plans to go back to Mystic Falls!"

"I just wanted to see if you'd let me in…without me bringing up Elena or Stefan. Call it a test of trust and where we stand," Damon shrugged calmly.

"Well your little _test_, cost us time," Bonnie was already going to get her jacket and keys.

"Well if you hadn't left Mystic Falls in the first place then we wouldn't even have this conversation, _Bennett_."

That was…a bit unexpected.

"I—don't try to warp this all on me. _You_ probably did something stupid that opened the door to the Other Side and started this entire mess."

"There you go again. _Always_ finding some _way_ to blame me."

"Because it's _always_ your fault, _Damon_."

"As entertaining as this lover's quarrel is, we got a supernatural homicidal ghost to bust," Taylor interrupted, packing her books back into her box.

"Who said you get to come?" Damon questioned though it really sounded like he said, "_You're not coming. At all."_

Taylor put her hands up in mock surrender, "Oh, we got a bad ass over here. You're dealing with a witch that's talking about placing her soul in one of her doppelgangers while pushing their soul _out_. Sounds pretty strong. You two _might_ just need my help. Since this kind of thing is _sorta_ my specialty. And c'mon, I feel as though I have to be there to stop you two from killing and arguing with each other. You know, the mediator."

"Thanks but no thanks. Three's a crowd."

"Taylor is coming."

"Ugh, _fine._" Damon gave Bonnie an exasperated huff while Taylor chuckled.

"Is Elena in town?"

"Nope. Not Barbie, or Ric. Not even Stefan. I stayed back."

Bonnie gave him a look of sympathy; "You're…all alone back in Mystic Falls?"

Damon gave her an amused look, "Don't sound too sad, Bon-Bon. Wouldn't want me to think you care…unless you _do~"_

"Leave it to you to make it impossible _to_ try and be concerned."

"Aww. If you _really_ want to make up for me being all alone you could…" he looked her over, smirking devilishly and bouncing his brows.

"You're unbelievable."

"You didn't say 'no'."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: **Owning of the TVD characters? What? Never.

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><p><strong>To Renew Nature<strong>

"_**A**__gain_? We're doing this _again_?"

Damon had his hands on the invisible barrier that kept him outside and the two witches inside, looking towards him with amusement. He was annoyed and couldn't believe that this was happening all over again. Had he not enter the Bennett house in Mystic Falls before? Apparently not.

"Let me in Bonnie."

Bonnie gave him a smirk, a smirk that made the vampire narrow his eyes before he mirrored her lips, "Let, me, in. I'm not going to beg you."

Taylor yawned, shaking her head with a raised brow before leaving the two at the door. She'd rather find a guestroom and unpack than to watch those two go back and forth. A pattern she realized on their little road trip here.

Bonnie didn't stir at the absence of her friend as she crossed her arms, "What's wrong with meeting at your place? I told you we'll be there as soon as we drop our things off here."

"It's the principal of the matter, Bon-Bon. My place isn't safe for me or did you already forget?"

Bonnie shrugged her shoulders, not giving him an answer.

He groaned before turning back to her, "You know, I'm taking this as your twisted way of flirting. You just get off on making me beg, don't you?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Leave it to you for confusing my caution with flirtation."

Damon watched her for a long moment before grasping the door's frame, leaning in closer to the woman as much as the barrier would allow him to as she swallowed but lifted her head higher as if to try and look down on him though they were seeing eye-to-eye. He then took an unnecessary breath, "You're worried about _me_ when there's a ghost witch trying to _posses Elen_a? _Get __**over**__ yourself._"

Bonnie glared, though her throat grew dry and tight. Taylor came back to the foyer, mumbling to herself before finding the two in the same spot she left them; her shoulders rose and fell with indignation, "You two are _still_ at it?"

Neither one replied.

Taylor raised a brow before adjusting her drawstring bag, "Well, I'm ready to go visit this haunted little house if you two are."

Damon stood up straight, before walking off to his car. Bonnie wanted to give him an aneurysm but she knew if she did that then that will only let Damon know he got under her skin and made her feel like such an immature jerk. She let Taylor out before she followed after, locking the door behind her.

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><p>"You're doing that 'second sense' look."<p>

"Huh—what?"

"The look that you sense something. C'mon. You can't be a psychic witch and not know about your supernatural sensing sense thing."

Bonnie should have expected that Damon would give her the cold shoulder and give his attention to Taylor though he made it quite obvious that he wasn't fond of her tagging along with them. 'Tagging', on the other hand, wasn't the appropriate word. Taylor was great at what she did. Bonnie knew she'd be a great asset to whatever they were facing.

Taylor gave Damon a helpless look before sighing, irritation evident, "I don't call it whatever you just did. But, yeah, I do sense an unnatural presence at work here."

Damon raised his brows, "Sure about that, witchy?"

Taylor looked at him from the corner of her eyes, "I'm sensitive to high amounts of energy. As in if a living or even 'dead' entity went through events that resulted in a large amount of emotion…or energy, I'm able to tap into it and see exactly what that event was."

"For example?"

"You killed Mason Lockwood right…she'll be able to see how, where, and when you did it," Bonnie answered, walking up to the boarding house, sensing something amiss as well.

Damon looked to Taylor, slightly impressed, "So what you're saying is, you might be able to see the event that led to this witch haunting me?"

Taylor looked to the house, not answering right away before nodding once, "Might. If you had something to do with it and it required a lot of energy or emotion to do so. But really, I could sense where she hangs out the most, probably be able to communicate with her…depending on how strong she is…but I take it she is strong if she's planning on possessing someone forever…"

"So if you have something to confess to us before we found out on our own you better tell us now, Damon," Bonnie said, her eyes looking towards him expectantly.

Damon made a face before looking off to the side and then looking back at her, "I didn't do anything."

"And you're lying," Bonnie shook her head, "Not that I'm surprised."

He glared at her, "And how do you know I'm lying, Bennett?"

She grinned smugly, partly because she had him, and the other because he wasn't ignoring her anymore, "Whenever you lie, you advert your gaze anywhere but my face for a millisecond before looking back. You're an intense kind of person. You _always_ make sure to look someone in the eye or generally their face. But when you don't…even for a second…something is up."

Damon opened his mouth to retort but then stopped himself and shrugged, "Okay…fine. So I _might_ have fooled with an ouija board."

"_What_?"

"You've _got_ to be kidding me."

"Woops," Damon waved it off, "But I doubt _that's_ the reason I was set on fire the other morning while I was sleeping."

Bonnie sneered before taking a deep breath, "See now why I think it's _always_ your fault?"

"That's your problem, honey-bunch. I still can sleep at night despite that."

Taylor brushed past them into the house, stopped, and turned to them, "We're wasting time. Flirt when we get some clue as to what exactly we're dealing with here, will you?"

She didn't bother giving them a chance to respond as she turned back around and walked further into the house.

"She's just jealous that I'd rather flirt with you than her."

"Shut up, Damon," but a small grin flashed across Bonnie's face despite the order.

The two followed after Taylor as the witch walked about the spacious living room. She seemed conflicted. Bonnie noticed this, asking, "What is it Tae?"

Taylor turned to the more powerful witch with a frown, "It's a shame this place is haunted…I'd much rather stay here and rest."

She took a deep breath, as if to engulf everything around her, "This place just _screams_ modern day vintage antique galore…if that makes sense."

"Not really," Damon replied, crossing his arms, "Could you do that spirit tracking witch thing and tell me what's going on so we could kill it and everyone is safe and happy…_especially_ me? I would 'much rather' sleep at my own place, seeing as Judgy here won't be a good friend and let me crash at her's, without having to worry about burning up in the sun every morning—_with my ring on _mind you."

Taylor seemed to want to retort but chose against it and turned back around, walking to the center of the room in front of the fireplace, "A death…a…a _bite_?"

"Not a witch," Damon responded in an impatient voice.

Bonnie sent him a warning aneurysm that lasted for a second. He glowered at her but didn't bother saying anything. A second he could handle, but _more than that_? Not worth a disapproving comment. He shouldn't be surprised that she would treat her new friend a bit better than him…even after all of these years. Taylor apparently hadn't done any wrong to Bonnie, yet, to give her reason to mistrust the seemingly easygoing witch.

Taylor took a deep breath and turned to Damon with a mix of emotions. Something told him whatever she saw she didn't really like it. She then turned to Bonnie before looking back at Damon. After that, she walked over to the stairs, not saying anything.

"Saw any witch?"

"_No_."

Taylor went up the steps in a jog, leaving Bonnie and Damon to follow.

"Well what _did_ you see?" Damon pressed.

Taylor tensed, stopping mid-step, before regaining her resolve and heading down the hallway to Damon's room, "She's here…"

She paused before turning to the other witch and vampire, "And…in a basement like dungeon…you have a dungeon here?"

"More or less."

Taylor nodded, walking into Damon's room. Damon looked to Bonnie with an expression that clearly said, "Are you _sure_ that this girl can really be of _any_ use to us?"

Bonnie rolled her eyes, "Be nice Damon."

Damon gaped slightly, "_What_? I didn't even _say_ anything."

"You didn't have to—"

Taylor left the room, closed the door behind her and glared at Damon. She then crossed her arms, "And you wonder _why_ Bonnie gives you a hard time inviting you into her house?"

Damon furrowed his brows, "_What_?"

The slightly younger witch turned to Bonnie, her eyes flaming before sneering at the vampire, "I didn't know we were helping a selfish, no regards for human life, homicidal sociopath of a vampire, Bonnie."

Narrowing his eyes, Damon regarded her, "What did you see exactly?"

"Too much. Oh, by the way, the original doppelganger witch? Her name is Idonea. And she said that you were the one who called her, which is safe to say whatever you did with that Ouija board is the reason why she's here. Now for setting you one fire…it's because you're a vampire," Taylor shrugged, "But what do you expect from a witch that wants to rid of vampires, werewolves, and etcetera?"

She shook her head disapprovingly as she brushed past them to head back downstairs. Damon made a move to stop her but instead stopped himself. He couldn't be "violent" or in Bonnie's case, "aggressive" with the new witch in front of her. He'll just have a private talk with Taylor later.

"What is _with_ you witches and being judgmental?" Damon stressed, his eyes rolling.

Bonnie raised an eyebrow before turning to go after Taylor, "Oh please Damon. You're one to talk when it comes to werewolves…let alone hybrids."

Damon widened his eyes in that "homicidal" way of his, or at least that is what Bonnie describes them as, "You would too if they have the bite to kill you."

Bonnie didn't bother to entertain that with a statement but gave him a raised eyebrow. Damon looked at her, not understanding her expression at first before the gears in his mind churned and his lips made an, "Oh" shape. He then shrugged his shoulders, a smirk on his lips toward his witch, "Well. I can understand from _you_ but your little friend? I haven't sunk my teeth in her yet."

"'Yet'? It won't _ever_ come to that. And seriously, Damon, you don't know her story like I do. I'll talk to her because whatever she saw, she's pretty unnerved by it. And in any case, she's my responsibility, my guest here in Mystic Falls."

"Or you could just let me talk to her. I'm great at persuading people, especially you witches."

"_Ha, ha_. But no. You stay here and I'll talk to her."

Damon shook his head, "My house, I go where ever I please, even if it means eavesdropping on you and your friends' conversation."

"Da—are you saying that because you're afraid to be left alone with Idonea? Damon. That's…kind of cute."

"…you know what? I'll just stay back."

Bonnie gave him a smug grin before going downstairs. She looked around, checking the living room and kitchen before calling out to Taylor. Something made her turn to the basement door before going down the stairs and catching Taylor look into one of the rooms. Bonnie waited for a moment, before, like expected, the younger witch opened her mouth, "To renew nature."

"What?"

"To renew nature. That is what 'Idonea' means. I read that somewhere…then again she probably put that in my mind," Taylor shrugged, "As witches…we're told that we keep the balance of nature…that we uphold the rules of the supernatural…in a sense anyway. I don't know…Idonea seems like she wants to stay true to the meaning of her own name."

"I hope that's not your way of saying you're backing out of this case, Tae."

Taylor frowned, "No. Of course not. But I'm not particularly happy that we're helping homicidal vamp up there."

Bonnie nodded, her eyes looking into the very room that Taylor was staring into, "Believe me, I was the same way you're feeling about him…sure we're helping Damon but really we're doing this for Elena."

Taylor frowned, "…you came down here to see what I saw…didn't you?"

The more experienced witch nodded, her hand reaching for Taylor's silently. Sighing, the other witch took it. They stood there in silence before Bonnie let go voluntarily, "Ah…"

"I don't want to help someone that would _gladly_ let you die Bonnie."

Dark green eyes looked into deep brown ones with a small grin, "It's okay Tae…I would have died for Elena, regardless. She's my best friend…like a sister to me. And it's no secret that Damon loves Elena—"

"Who is the girlfriend of his younger brother, that, hey, saved his life."

"Taylor. Trust me. It's ok. And that was…years ago."

Taylor frowned at her and shook her head, "I'm _only _doing this because _you're_ all that I have left of a family. I don't have to pretend to like this Damon guy. Regardless if he said what he did about you years ago."

"I'm not asking you to. Just so long as you both don't do anything to cause harm to the other. Just tolerate him," Bonnie made her way to the stairs before turning back to Taylor, "Elijah was in that room…at one point."

"Yeah, I know," Taylor tilted her head, "Which is probably the reason why Idonea hangs out down here too."

"…you think she's the original doppelganger they sacrificed to curse Klaus?"

"…strong bet…though…her being a witch…is peculiar…"

"Why?"

"…I don't know. I just would have thought that she would find a way to survive it."

Bonnie considered before shaking her head, "No…if she's against vampires, werewolves, and the like after her death…it's not surprising she wants to come back to life and finish the job."

"…even sacrificing herself to make sure Klaus wouldn't be able to be both vampire and werewolf when she lived…wow."

Bonnie nodded, "C'mon, let's head back. Aren't you a _little_ weird-ed out you can practically see dead people?"

"Ha-ha, Bonnie," Taylor mused, entering the room to look around. There was _so_ much energy from events that gave off such strong emotions in this room. Even _if_ Elijah weren't faux dead here at one point, Idonea would still be attracted to this room. "I've told you. After a lifetime of seeing apparitions and spirits, you kind of just get used to it."

The door to the dungeon room slammed shut making the slightly older witch jump.

"…Taylor?" Bonnie's heart fell, her voice tight as she took a step down, nearing the door.

"_BONNIE!"_

"TAYLOR!" Bonnie ran to the door, trying to open it with physical and magical strength. Neither one was able to budge it. "DAMON! DAMON!"

He was by her side in an instant, his face serious as he tried to make the door give way, "What the hell?"

"I don't know, she just walked in and the door closed on its own! I can't get it open!"

"I can see _that_!" He kicked at the door, hearing the younger witch scream and also try to open the door. "What, has your power of a hundred witches hit its peak and just worthless right now?"

Bonnie squared her shoulders, suddenly realizing that Taylor grew extremely quiet. She backed away from the door, "Taylor, Damon, move away from the door. I'm opening it."

Damon did what he was instructed, backing away from the door, watching her intently as she closed her eyes and the place shook in place.

"_I promise you…if you stand in my way…I will not hesitate to do everything in my power to cause you all grief and pain. I was called to do this."_

The male vampire saw Bonnie's eyebrows furrow, her composure faltering. He would tell her to get a grip and not let the ghost witch get to her but that would just distract her more. To his satisfaction she went back to chanting, fists balled, and chin rising in defiance as if challenging the new presence.

The basement shook more, leaving Damon concerned if Bonnie was about to hit her nosebleed mark but as soon as he thought this everything immediately went still and the door flew open. Bonnie took in a breath and without a second thought ran into the room. Damon followed suit to find Bonnie embracing Taylor who was shaking, her eyes wide and scared.

The older witch led her out, giving Damon a worried glance.

Oh yeah that's right. Witches can see whatever that needs to be seen with a simple touch. Well, good to know that Idonea was now seen as dangerous, like he said.

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><p>"<em>God<em>, that was terrifying," Taylor finally spoke as the group drove back to Bonnie's place.

"Speaking of your terror. Anyone care to tell me what exactly happened in there?" Damon asked, turning into Bonnie's driveway.

Before the two witches could even take their seatbelts off, Damon had opened the door for Taylor first and then for Bonnie. Bonnie wasn't sure she would get used to that. Damon could be an obnoxious dick but somehow _still_ be a gentleman. Despite how well he could fit in this current time period, he was still a product of his own.

"Vision overload of her life. No me gusta," Taylor answered, walking up to the door, waiting for Bonnie to unlock it and let her in so that she could stuff her mouth with ice cream that they bought earlier.

"Really? _That's_ _it_?" Damon questioned, wanting to roll his eyes.

"That and she tried to posses me. That's not cool either."

"I thought she wanted to posses Elena?"

"Well yeah, 'course, but it doesn't hurt to get a little magic boost, and leave the house you were called to to find Elena so that you could properly posses her. You called her to that house Damon, so in a way she's trapped there…unless we find a way to have her move on. And _you're_ the key to doing that."

"Me?"

"Yeah, and we'll have to probably discuss it in the contents of Bonnie's home considering this place is supernatural proof and we're still dealing with a pretty strong ghost of a witch."

Damon's face fell flat as Taylor shrugged innocently and entered the house while Bonnie turned to Damon with crossed arms.

He regarded her, "Alright, _alright_. I'm leaving. You know how ridic—"

"Damon, just come in." Bonnie rolled her eyes as she walked inside of her home, leaving the vampire a bit stunned.

He fell into step with her immediately, Bonnie telling while giving Taylor a bowl, spoon, and the carton of ice cream they bought on their way back. She made note to pick up some groceries some time later. It was obvious her dad had not been home in _quite_ some time.

"Hey. Bonnie."

She turned to the man, "Hm?"

"Thank you."

She blinked before nodding, "You're welcome, Damon."

He raised a brow with a smirk, "There was a time that you never replied to my 'thank you's. Does this mean I can sleep in your bedroom or…?"

Bonnie pushed his face, annoyed, "You ruined the moment."

"You didn't say n—"

"And you're sleeping on the couch. No exceptions."

"But—"

"No."

"You are _no_ fun."

Taylor cleared her throat as she stood to her feet, "Do you mind if I take this to my room or…?"

"How come_ she_ gets a _room_? I've known you longer."

"She called dibs on the only guestroom we have and since the other rooms belong to my Grams and Father…_and_ I _just_ invited you into my house…"

Damon raised his hand to stop her, "Never mind. I get it. The couch. I'm going."

"Thank you," Bonnie sighed.

"I do it because I _adore_ and _respect_ you, witch."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I like the idea of…changing the summary every time I post a new chapter…with their bantering. Shall I continue that or no?


	3. Chapter 3

**It Was For Her**

Damon needed to have that talk with Judgy #2. He said he was going to do so. He's keeping his word. However, it seemed that he couldn't get into the younger witch's room. _Of course._ She cast a spell to keep him out.

The Older Salvatore grumbled as he decided to give himself a tour of Bonnie's home. He never thought he would see the day that he would be in here. He could just go to Bonnie's room, lay back on her bed and wait for her to wake up. Not because it was some sort of sweet gesture but to really see what she would do if it were his face she woke up to first thing in the morning.

She would probably set him on fire.

And ask questions later.

Yeah…he won't be risking that.

He found her father's room. Everything was teal. Couldn't say he was surprised. A cold color that defined yet another absent parent to the life that was Bonnie.

He then thought of her mother and inwardly rolled his eyes. Okay…so he turned her in order to save both Bonnie and Elena but he wouldn't put it past him that the turning of her mother and that same mother leaving her again was part of many reasons why their witch high-tailed it out of Mystic Falls.

Not that he could blame her completely. He's kind of shocked that she didn't leave before it got that far.

Running into a room that smelled of age, liquor, and magic, Damon had a strong guess it was Sheila Bennett's room if ever she came to spend the night here. Something felt like it was boring holes into his skull when Damon popped his head into the room for a look. He drew his head back and let out a breath he didn't know he held.

He was so _bored_ and the only other thing he could really do was have that "talk" with Taylor. But how the hell does he enter her…wait.

He was in front of her door in the next second, pushing up against the barrier. The open window in her room caught his eye and he was outside that window in less than five seconds. He tore a hole through the window screen big enough for his size and climbed right on in. It wasn't until he was flung against the opposite wall to her bed with bone crushing pressure that he realized Judgy #2 was wide awake, "Good morning to you too sunshine."

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing sneaking into my damn room while I'm sleeping."

She's obviously not a morning person.

"If you put me down I will be more than willing to answer that."

"No."

He rolled his eyes. He would of added a shake to his head in the negative if he could move his head to begin with but alas…the little one was a lot stronger than he thought.

She flexed her fingers and he could feel the pressure nearly crushing his skull, "Didn't—Bonnie say—to tolerate me? And not to…cause harm to me?"

The witch pulled her long strands of braids from her face, eyes narrowing, "Oh. So you were eavesdropping on our conversation concerning you and your willingness to let her die for a teenage girl with the face of a woman that had no problems severing the relationship of two brothers?"

Damon glared. This was not the kind of talk he had in mind.

Taylor watched him before her fingers relaxed a little and the pressure let up a bit. He still couldn't move though.

"You snuck into my bedroom for a reason. What is it?"

"I liked you better before you walked around in my house. You were a lot nicer."

"Whatever. Blame your mouth and those actions of yours that I had to witness. Besides you were rude to me either way so. Again. What is it do you want?"

Damon didn't like being treated like some sort of brat…especially by a girl who looked like she only experienced one year out of high school.

"I think a truce is in order."

Taylor raised an eyebrow.

"Obviously you're just like your step mother upstairs and I think if you give me the benefit of the doubt I'm actually a decent guy."

Taylor rolled her burnt umber eyes, "You need to earn my trust if you want a truce out of me."

"Are you…like…Bonnie's daughter…from the future or something? Seriously, are you? It's _very_ creepy."

"I'm a little more judgmental than she is, I'll admit, seeing as she considers you a friend some what."

"You would think that would be enough to gain your trust."

"Nope. And I have a feeling that there's more of you I'll have to witness from past events that will only make it harder for me to trust you."

Abby and Sheila Bennett came to mind. Fantastic.

Taylor cocked her head to the side as if she heard that thought. So much so with those large questioning eyes of hers, Damon was convinced she had.

She let go of him all of a sudden, "But…since my _step mom_ can see past that I _guess_ I have no other choice but to not question—"

"And call a truce?"

"No. You earn that. I'm not just going to give it to you. Did Bonnie give you her trust or did you…overtime…earn it?"

He chose not to answer.

"Thought so," Taylor looked thoughtful before giving him a small grin, "Anything else?"

This didn't go the way he planned at all but, "…a vampire obviously rubbed you the wrong way. I mean your tolerance for me after you saw what I did was thrown out the window."

"That's the thing. Because you came to Bonnie and asked for her help and she was willing to let you in to her home I thought you weren't that much of a threat. Then I walked around your house and let's just say what I saw rubbed me the wrong way."

"Aand my statement still stands," Damon interrupted, prompting her to get to the point.

"My family was killed by vampires."

Oh.

"And if I learned that you had anything to do with why Bonnie decided to finally leave this place or you've hurt her in anyway I won't hesitate to—"

"-to kill me. Your mom gave me the same speech but she was looking out for the safety of this town than just herself and Elena." Which he must admit, it admired him. Elena was a forgiving soul and she meant well. She was Katherine's opposite but Bonnie was an actual _hero_. She lost nearly all of her family and went through so much pain that no one else bothered to bring up and pay attention to and yet she still, without question, would go out of her way to keep her friends safe. Even himself and he knew he didn't deserve that out of her. At all.

Now.

Would he admit that out loud?

_Hell. No._

And again, Judgey #2's eyes searched him and her eyebrow perked like she read his mind.

He cleared his throat, "A tolerance at least? Bonnie and I's relationship was always one of which we got shit done so could you at least set aside your distaste for me until we got this situation under control?"

She hesitated.

He cocked his head at her, making sure to give her a look that mirrored that of an innocent begging puppy, as his brows rose to his forehead, "Hmm?"

"…fine. _Don't _get it twisted. I'm doing this for Bonnie."

"I know I know."

Damon turned to leave before he pointed at her, feigning to play stern, "And don't _ever_ lock your room up in this house again. I'll tell your mother. You do _not_ pay bills around here, young lady!"

Aghast, Taylor's arms crossed her chest, offended, "No you _didn't—"_

He was gone before she could finish.

* * *

><p>"So Bons! What are you up to?"<p>

Bonnie sighed, allowing her pen to stay still on her notepad as she made rounds around her kitchen. Her dad didn't come home nearly _at all_ as of late. The rotten produce and aged food was proof enough. But then again can she blame him? She doesn't necessarily live here anymore.

"What does it look like?"

"You know, you and your mini-me are just not morning people are you?" He gave her a teasing grin, as he looked over her shoulder, invading her personal space like it was his instead, "Grocery list? We have a doppelganger witch maniac after everything supernatural and Elena, and you're planning on going to the mini-mart to buy some _Doritos_?"

"I'm _so_ sorry that we're still _so _human that we need to take care of human basic needs before playing Scooby-Doo, Damon," Bonnie retorted, rolling her olive eyes to the ceiling in annoyance, "But would you like to come along?"

"Please say no. I _love_ your company," Taylor chimed, entering the kitchen and opening the refrigerator before Bonnie could stop her.

What the-? Where did this horrid smell come from?

Taylor gagged and slammed the door shut.

Damon's face mirrored the younger woman before he nodded his answer to Bonnie.

"Taylor would you like to come too?" Bonnie asked, hoping she would say "yes".

"Nope," Taylor waved the invitation off like that idea was as bad a smell as what came from the fridge, "I had enough of the vampire seeing as he paid me a visit this morning in my room."

Both of Bonnie's brows rose at that and Damon felt he had to explain himself, "Now it's not what you think. I'm no creep."

Both ladies only gave him looks that said otherwise.

"I just wanted to clear the air between you and your illegally adopted daughter. No foul play occurred unless you count slamming me against the wall with her witchy juju power."

Taylor shrugged easily.

Bonnie on the other hand gave him a look of suspicion, "And you didn't go after her?"

"Of course not. I wasn't planning on hurting her when I came to talk to her."

Damon would be lying if Bonnie's impressed countenance didn't make his insides tighten in anticipation. Anticipation of what? He wasn't sure but to better make sense of the feeling, he was glad she was pleased.

But then he frowned to himself and narrowed his eyes at her, "Wait…you thought I _would_?"

Bonnie caught on to his accusatory tone quick, "Would you blame me?"

"Ok…no…but—"

"You know what I think we should do as far as this Idonea situation is concerned?" Taylor interrupted with grace.

And Bonnie was glad she did as she played along, "What?"

"No."

Both ladies turned to the dead man walking with confusion. Seriously? How often did they hang around each other to mirror their facial expressions?

"I have an idea and I'm telling you, yours is a bad one."

"What? I didn't even say—"

"We are NOT telling Elena and my brother about this. No."

Bonnie saw that coming. And…she agreed.

"Why not? I think it's only fair that we do since it kinda concerns them. One more so than the other."

"_No_."

Taylor sucked her teeth and turned to her fellow witch for support. She was very disappointed, "What? You agree with him?"

"Look. Here's the thing with our lovely and perfect Elena. Your mother and I already discussed—" Taylor scoffed at him and Bonnie tried not to grin so instead settled on shaking her head in the negative, "—that Elena's call is everything bad…_ever_, because once we tell her about this she's going to make my brother bring her fickle little ass back here and we're going to have to go by what she wants instead of what _needs_ to be done and then things turn for the worst. Like…I don't know, _you might die._ And we can't have that now can we?"

Taylor frowned and the older heads in the room noticed that this just got a little bit more serious in her eyes. Bonnie nodded, slow and hesitant at first, as she sat her notepad down on a nearby counter and put a hand to her friend's shoulder, "Though his delivery was a little harsh…he's right. I love Elena…but the longer I stayed around her the more hurt_ I_ got. Those closest to me…I've lost almost everything for the sake of keeping Elena safe… and she has lost so many people too and…I don't know…down the line somewhere I realized as much as I loved Elena…I knew that my staying around could kill her…if I died too."

Damon grew tense and silent.

Bonnie took in a breath, "I know…it seemed selfish of me to leave. And yeah, that might very well be true in and within it'self but I also knew it crushed Elena and that's the last thing I want to do…hurt Elena….but…deep down…I knew she was a little more at ease with me gone. At least she knew I was safe. That she wasn't using or hurting me indirectly any more."

And here, Damon thought Bonnie leaving was because she couldn't take the drama, the Originals, Elena, _him_ anymore. Though that may be a little bit of the reason why she _did_ leave…ultimately, however, it was for Elena. And that…kind of made him mad.

"I'll wait outside, and Judgey #2, under no circumstances do you get in contact with Elena, Stefan, or any of the original Scooby Gang ok?" Damon pointed at Taylor as he made way to leave the kitchen. Bonnie seemed to move with him, her eyes looking at the girl with concern.

Taylor frowned and glared at him but she didn't make any movement to say she would go on ahead and contact their old friends. Good. That's the _last _thing they needed right now.

* * *

><p>"No way Damon. I'm not doing that. I'm not going to take advantage of you like that."<p>

"Bonnie. Please. It is my _honor_ to have you take advantage of me." He proceeded to bounce his brows as the powerful witch merely rolled her eyes.

"Shut up. And the answer's still 'no'. I'll pay for the groceries. It's my food anyway. Plus Taylor already pitched in."

Damon huffed, "I _insist_. It's the _least_ I can do for you helping me out."

Bonnie smirked, the vampire feeling that same tight feeling in his insides, "Now Damon, you know this is only for Elena."

Ah. Like old times.

He mirrored her visage, "_Now Judgey_, we wouldn't want you to believe your own witch's brew."

The two stopped and grinned at one another before a little girl with big afro puffs stopped trying to reach for her favorite box of cereal and watched them with big curious chestnut colored eyes. She pulled on the hem of her mother's skirt, "Mama! They 'bout to do what you and daddy do all the time, huh?"

"And what's that, hun?" her mother asked disinterested.

"Eat at each other face?"

Her mother yelped, glaring at her daughter as witch and vampire jumped at the girl's statement, embarrassed too.

Talk about awkward.

Damon cleared his throat and guided Bonnie away by the small of her back as she kept giving apologetic looks to the mother. It was a pointlessly cute gesture that Damon got the incredible urge to kiss her on the forehead.

But let's push that thought to the back of the head shall we?

Upon getting all that Bonnie had put on the list, Damon made Bonnie go get his favorite bourbon right as soon as they were being rung up at the checkouts. Giving the blue eyed vampire a look of disapproval she went off to do so, only to come back to him waving at her at the store's exit with a smug glint in his eyes, all the food in bags and ready to be brought home.

Of course they argued but came to an agreement as Bonnie went on ahead and purchased two bottles of his bourbon (he wanted at least _four_ but whatever) and made sure to keep Taylor's money out of the equation.

"Ready Bon-Bon?"

"Jerk."

On their ride back there was a silence, and Damon decided it was _then _that it was the perfect time to pick at Bonnie's head, "So…your leaving was only for _her_ sake huh?"

And of course the perceptive witch knew he couldn't wait to ask about this, "Basically."

A beat passed before he continued, "And she deserves that?"

"It helped us _both_ in the end if that's what you're trying to get at."

Another beat, "Do you two still talk?"

"Do you?"

He paused before shaking his head in the negative, "No."

"…oh. Occasionally. Me and Elena do talk. But it's hard you know…"

"She wanting to see you and all probably."

"Yeah."

It grew quiet again. Naturally he had to break it, "Well, it took you long enough to finally high-tail it out of Mystic Falls."

"…My father's life was in jeopardy."

"I mean…he's always been absent so I don't see—"

If looks could kill.

"…well. It's true."

"Regardless. He's my dad. And he was there more than Abby ever was. Maybe not as much but still. And after a while it gets tiring having your loved ones snatched away from you for your best friend time and time again…even if you're not on the best of terms."

Turning her mother came back to mind. _Ungh._

Bonnie watched him before continuing, "I also…got sick of being pushed around…by _all_ of you."

The bite definitely was felt.

"At least I thanked you."

"Some of the time."

"That's more than everyone else combined."

A beat passed out of her, "…that's true."

It was Damon's turn to watch her before he turned his eyes back on the road, "Anyways. You were missed."

Bonnie looked at him, curiously, before a smirk graced her lips, "What's that? Homicidal Vamp-Boy, Damon Salvatore, missed the Judgmental Witch, Bonnie Bennett? How nice to know you _did_ care."

"I saved your life after all."

Bonnie nodded, looking out the window, "Well. If it's anything. You were missed as well."

He gave a small grin, ignoring that tightness again.

"Now my turn. Why are you the only one who stayed in Mystic Falls?"

"Elena chose Stefan. He convinced her to go away with him. And she did. We agreed whoever she chose the other one would leave Mystic Falls," He shook his head, "it's like my brother to leave before I could.

"Caroline ran off with Tyler after they left. Matt left after you did which was way before any of them left. Jeremy went back up to wherever he goes to and Alaric—" Damon paused, his grip on the steering wheel tightening, "I don't know. He just…disappeared."

"So he's still a threat to the Originals which is why I haven't seen them around yet?"

"Probably." Damon sighed, "And to be frank, I don't give a damn anymore what he does with them. Whoever he kills I could give a rat's ass if that original was the line that we came from."

Bonnie frowned. The thought of him or Stefan dropping dead any moment bothered her. Damon noticed how tense she got and he quickly shrugged, "Not to worry. The Originals are like roaches. They always find a way to survive."

That didn't really comfort Bonnie. Funny. It was because of the Salvatores her life had changed for the…not so better and yet she worried for their lives. They not only have Idonea to worry about but now Alaric… _still_?

They made it back to Bonnie's house with Taylor coming out the front door rubbing her arms. After Damon helped Bonnie out of the car, the older witch approached the younger one, concern dripping from every pore of her young yet matured face. And this is why Damon calls their little relationship that of almost a mother and daughter's.

Abby may have failed in the mother department, and to compare the Bennetts was an insult to Bonnie's character, but this bringing in teenagers to care for like they were their own must be a thing for them. Damon won't question it. It was one of those admirable things he would never admit out loud.

"What's wrong, what happened?" Bonnie asked, hands on the girl's shoulders.

Taylor pulled a braid behind her ear, "She—She tried to posses me."

She seemed to gape, not believing what she said herself as she repeated, "She _tried to posses_ _me_."

Damon and Bonnie exchanged looks.

They needed a plan of action. _Stat_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: So sorry for the late update. But alas, art school is demanding. But now it's summer and woo~ Anyways, thanks to ALL that have reviewed and I'm bumping this to M because of all this fanfiction ratings mess. Just to be on the safe side. Also, what do you all think? What are Damon's feelings for Bonnie? Has Damon gotten over Elena? And what about their semi-heart-to-heart in the car? Are there still some resentful feelings towards Elena from not just Bonnie but Damon as well? And will we see the original Scooby Gang come together for the new threat that is Idonea? Review my lovelies and tell me your thoughts! :D**


	4. Chapter 4

**The Plan**

"She's _my_ responsibility, Damon. And I don't want to put her in even more danger than she already is."

"Oh come _on_, Bonnie. She's not twelve. She's grown. She can handle it. I mean doesn't she specialize in this kind of thing anyway?"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean I want her to go against this thing _on her own. _Were you _not_ here when she said she almost got possessed…_again_?"

"No. Of course I wasn't. I was too busy having a staring contest with the sun—_I was there, but we don't have much choice but this._"

"You're out of your mind if you think I'm going to allow her to be Idonea's bait."

"She's not going to die, _Bonnie_."

"With this town's track record, you saying that doesn't put me at ease,_ at all, Damon."_

Taylor let out an exasperated sigh. They've been at it for almost thirty minutes. After almost getting possessed, again, and almost not being able to get free this time, she's been nothing but shaken up to the core. She's never dealt with a spirit like this before. And she was scared. But the only option they seemed to have was for her to get in contact with this witch ghost and exorcise her.

And she knew she was the one that had to do it but apparently Damon was right about her and Bonnie. Their dynamic was that of a mother and a daughter and it was starting to get on her nerves. Not just because Damon was right in his teasing and assuming but because she was being treated like a child. And be damned that.

"Would you two stop. I'm going to do it. All I need is your magic's support and I should be okay," Taylor stood at that, looking at them both with a firm glare, "Damon's right. I'm not twelve, I _am_ an adult, and I do specialize in this sort of thing. I'm the only one who can do the exorcism and it's better to do it now than later. Exorcising her isn't me being her _bait._"

Bonnie frowned, "But—no, there's a chance that you'll get possessed…indefinitely. I think Idonea's made it clear that she doesn't care who she posseses just so long as it's an able body."

"I agree. But she also seems to know that we're not going to let Elena and the others know about what's going on thus she's targeting me to posses instead."

"And why not me?" Bonnie pressed.

_Ever the martyr_, Damon thought, rolling his eyes.

"…sure you're more powerful and the ideal person to posses…but your will is too strong…and you're more experienced with your powers. I'm not experienced…or at least I tend to let my power radiate without control. And those without control are a lot more easier _to _control. Which is why it _has _to be me to do it. I know what to do, and it does give Idonea some hope that I can still be possessed."

Damon's brows rose. Sure he knew she was a little more immature than them all but admitting her weakness like that…especially in his presence was shocking. Needing to capitalize in that moment he added, "See? If she's willing to admit her weakness she's aware of it and will work a little harder to make sure she doesn't get possessed. I man, she was able to handle herself when we weren't around."

Both women stared at him, blinking.

"What?"

"You said something nice to me," Taylor breathed, eyes wide.

"Yeah…?"

Bonnie only narrowed her eyes, "And that only means you want to push more on the fact that she has to do this."

"Well, _duh_, Sabrina. She's good at this kind of thing. You need to let her do this and give her some breathing room. I know you love her and all but you're not her mother. She wants to do this so let her. That's part of the reason why you brought her here with us in the first place am I right?"

Bonnie bit her lip, "Yeah but—"

"Then it's settled, we're exorcising Idonea," Taylor and Damon interrupted as they gave each other respected nods and went to separate areas of Bonnie's house; Damon to the kitchen and Taylor to her room. Bonnie sighed. Why did she feel she was ganged up on for being concerned for the younger witch?

"I have a bad feeling about this…" She murmured, frowning.

* * *

><p>Damon was watching the two witches as they set up candles on the floor of the dungeon in his ever lovely yet haunted boarding house. Taylor decided it would be best they did it where she was first attacked. He didn't get why but he didn't care to ask.<p>

The vampire was bored the first twenty into their set-up. He made a glass of his wine and figured if he watched Bonnie's movements for the time being it may entertain him. Of course whenever she caught him staring she would raise a brow in question with a bit of sass in the twitch of her mouth and the familiar dimple that appeared above that brow of hers. It was as though he could hear her ask him, "_What?_" with attitude that she reserved for him and others that bothered her. He had to roll his eyes at the thought of Klaus and Kol. No surprise he had to share the same space with those assholes.

Wasn't he the _good_ guy?

Oh, was that before or after Klaus started drawing terrible kitty-scratch pictures for Barbie vampstress?

"I think that should be enough," Taylor breathed, taking out a Bible from her drawstring bag.

Now wasn't _that_ a sight?

"Woah, wait, mini witch, you use the Bible for your exorcism?"

Taylor rolled her eyes, "What else would I use?"

"Your _magic_. Which, I'm pretty sure of this, is a _sin_ in that faith."

"So is eating swine. Your point?" Bonnie replied on beat looking at Taylor expectantly.

_Touche Bennett._

Bonnie merely smirked, which made Damon's brows shoot up his forehead near his hairline. Did she hear his-?

"I mean, you bloodsuckers aren't affected by holy water so it shouldn't surprise you too much to see a witch hold the Bible. I mean we're practically more spiritual than a lot of those who follow this faith and many others. They're actually great tools for exorcisms. Just…when they're used for the wrong reasons is where the tools turn out bad altogether," Taylor continued, turning to a page, skimming through some verses before looking around to notice the candles were blazing, "You both ready?"

Bonnie and Damon nodded. The older witch stood by Damon extending her arms to her younger counterpart, "Be _careful_ Taylor."

"Duh. Be _supportive_ Bonnie. _Please_. You're concern is appreciated but it's making me second guess myself."

"Sorry."

"Apology has been accepted," Taylor cleared her throat as she addressed their ghostly doppelganger, "Normally, with exorcisms we have to force an entity out of something or _someone_. But you, Idonea, have not possessed anyone or anything yet besides trying to get inside me. Why is that, in Jesus' name, I demand you answer."

_Foolish girl._

The candles' flames flickered before dancing again.

Bonnie felt a chill run up and down her spine but she continued giving magical support around Taylor. She couldn't afford to let this spirit consume her friend.

_I am no demon. There is no need for you to throw his name around. It doesn't hurt me._

Taylor took a deep breath, "You have no place in this world Idonea. You are not needed here."

_I think I am._

The candles' flames blew out all at once. Damon was on alert. He could feel the hairs on his skin rise in anticipation. Looking to Bonnie, he could tell she was shaken a bit too. She had reason to. Before she was even able to fully come into her powers Emily had possessed her. And he had almost killed Bonnie because of what Emily done. What Emily did was without Bonnie's consent. There was no recollection of that night for Bonnie besides his predator face immediately tearing at her neck in anguish. Guilt consumed him.

But that was _years_ ago. Why must he think of the past _now_?

_You see. You _witches_ aren't doing your jobs. You're supposed to maintain the balance of nature and yet you side with that that is an abomination of nature._

"Only because you're planning to push the soul of a human out so that you can perform such extremist plans."

_The end justifies the means. Damon should be able to tell you _all_ about that._

"This isn't about Damon." Bonnie spoke.

Taylor's eyes snapped at the older female. That's one thing she didn't need, was Bonnie's feelings getting in the way and possibly even having her vulnerable to the spirit witch.

There was a pause and the flames erupted again, but rising and becoming bigger than the candle sticks could handle.

_You care for such an abomination? Why?_

Bonnie opened her mouth to answer to only be interrupted by Taylor, "She's right. This _isn't_ about Damon."

The vampire in question could only bring himself to stare at Bonnie, taking the spirit witch's words into consideration. Bonnie, on the other hand refused to return his intense staring.

_But I'm curious. A witch and a vampire? Such things are wrong in every aspect of its being even a thought. I ask again. You care for such and abomination, "Bonnie"?_

"I…Yes. I do care for him."

There goes that tight feeling in his gut again.

_Why?_

"_Bonnie,"_ Taylor hissed. Didn't she tell her that bringing attention to herself during this while she's _vulnerable_ is f*cking _stupid_?

"Because. He's my friend. He's saved my life and been there for me every time I needed him."

And now that tight feeling fell loose and warm even though it seemed it wanted a little more than just being a "friend". Damon narrowed his eyes and glared down at himself. What the hell was that even supposed to mean?

_That's disgusting._

The candles went out again.

_Mixing between that of an abomination and pure nature is wrong. And disastrous. Things that die must stay dead. His entire existence feeds off of life. Without life he can not live so he leeches on the living, he's shun from the sun yet you so called witches allow him to cheat the system._

"If it wasn't for him I probably wouldn't be here. My own gave him orders to keep our line safe."

_Only so he could free another abomination that was never there to begin with. It was never out of the goodness of his heart. They know no good, Bennett. He must die. You are in all essence life and he will use you till the day you die. He will do only what he knows how to do which is to suck the life out of others to live. And you, _we_, are _life_. How dare you be on his side?_

"Because you're wrong about him."

"_Bonnie,"_ Taylor hissed even more harshly.

It grew cold in the next instant and the candles flickered on to reveal a woman in what seemed to be her sacrificial wardrobe when she died. It was aged yet she still looked stunning and powerful. Her face was that of Elena's but stern, cold, and harsh. She glided to Bonnie, her face in the witch's, her deep brown orbs filled with disgust and hatred.

_I'm wrong Bonnie?_

Bonnie's breath was caught in her throat. It was as though she was having a dual with her own best friend. She glared and nodded in assurance, "You're everything but right."

Anger flashed across the ghost's face before she went blank and backed away, turning to Taylor.

_And how about you young one?_

Taylor tightened her grip on the Bible but held her stare.

Idonea crossed over to her, _Am I wrong about all that I said? Are not all vampires like I described? What about Thomas? That vampire your family considered a family friend since you could remember?_

Bonnie dropped her arms and began to march to the witch spirit, "_Don't you_—"

_That same family friend that ripped your baby brother's throat apartt?_

"Idonea, _stop._"

_And snatched your mother's heart out, snapped your father's neck before draining him dry?_

Damon could hear Taylor's heart beating hard as tears of anguish silently rolled down her cheeks. He went to block Bonnie, to try and remind her that her job was to surround Taylor with her magic, to support her while also containing her power so that she wasn't left vulnerable but both women were so vulnerable that he could smell their hearts beating on their sleeves, "You two _need to snap back into gear."_

Bonnie gasped and held her arms out, moving back from the ghost and Taylor reluctantly as she stood by Damon's side.

Taylor's mouth let out a haggard breath before she closed the Bible and set it down, "You don't belong in this world Idonea. What you're tampering with is dark magic and _that_ is even unnatural. You can't preach what is pure nature, what is an abomination, claim a name that means to renew nature, but then _build_ your power off of dark magic to assist you."

Idonea paused, eyes narrowing, _The end justifies the means._

"Bull, sh*t."

Damon grinned. Mini-witch got spunk.

"You're right though. I agree. Vampires are, by nature, an abomination. They are not meant to live."

Okay. He takes it back about her having spunk.

"But right now, I can see that that sack of an abomination is the lesser evil between you two. You mean to take over one of your doppelgangers and force her spirit out of her own body so that you may live again when your time has past. A true witch would never do such a thing."

A screech erupted from the spirit as she materialized in front of Taylor and grabbed her by the throat.

"Oh my God, Taylor," Bonnie cried moving towards her as Damon stopped her, "No."

"Let me _go_, Damon, I have to save Taylor."

"You do that by supporting her with your magic. _Let her do this."_

Taylor gaped as she clawed at the ghost's hand. She then started to chant a spell in latin, clamping her hands together that mirrored that of a prayer. Idonea gasped, letting the girl go and stepping away from her.

Bonnie soon joined in on the chant, the cold air picking up momentum and creating winds in the dungeon room.

_Stop!_

The chanting grew louder in defiance, the flames of the candles shining bright with life.

_I said STOP. I am NOT going back. He called me here._

Damon glared at the spirit who pointed towards him in distaste. Oh c'mon. What is with him and not being liked by _any_ doppelgangers?

Both Bonnie and Taylor's chanting didn't falter as Idonea began to disappear. She gave another inhumane guttural sound before becoming that of a speck of dust and the activity in the room, along with the temperatures ceased.

In that instant, both women stopped chanting and looked to each other. Taylor grinned, "We did it."

Bonnie sighed with relief, "We…we did."

Damon looked around, lips pursed to show he was impressed, "And to think, that ghost was kinda hot."

Both girls rolled their eyes as Bonnie moved her hand to make him trip and fall and Taylor laughed at his displeasure, "Aw, step-_dad_, seems like you made step-_mommy_ jealous."

"Shut _up_, Taylor," the two snapped which only made the younger witch laugh again.

* * *

><p>"It's kinda amusing to bless the house of a homicidal vampire," Taylor mused before reuniting with the two older adults at the entrance of the vampire's house.<p>

Damon looked at them both before he went on ahead and asked, "So, your work here is done then?"

There was an undercurrent of another question in this that Taylor picked up on. She knew that Bonnie caught on to it to so before either of them could continue, Taylor took it upon herself to speak up, "Not really. We have to make sure she's gone now."

"I thought you di—"

"Well yeah but consider it a 'double tap'. My blessing of the house solidifies the deal but it doesn't hurt to be absolutely sure that the entity is gone. She's a witch after all…who has been dabbling in dark magic so sure she's gone _now_ but that doesn't mean she won't come back."

"Like I said I _thought_—"

Taylor glared at him, "Look, we're staying here for a week, to your _enjoyment_, and once the week is up we'll be outta your hair."

"We usually give our clients a week before we leave for good to be sure whatever we dealt with is gone for real," Bonnie clarified, crossing her arms against her chest, "You _are_ our client, Damon, so we'll be here in Mystic Falls till Tuesday of next week exactly. That way you can call or come over to my place if you're having any more paranormal activity and we'll perform another exorcism for you."

Damon looked at them both before nodding.

Taylor grinned, "Now that that's settled I'm going in the car, Bonnie. I am _beat_."

Taylor turned on her heel to leave before stopping and waving a friendly goodbye to Damon. She didn't continue to the car until she saw how confused he looked at her gesture.

Damon watched her get in and start the car the girls came to the boarding house in. Apparently Bonnie left her old car she had in high school here for such occasions. Guess it was that gut of hers who told her to.

"We'll stay in touch when we leave Mystic Falls and go back home Damon," Bonnie started, looking towards the young witch too.

"As long as you don't ignore my calls and texts or change your number again like last time," Damon retorted, looking down at her.

She shrugged innocently.

There was a moment of comfortable silence between the two that they accepted happened a lot between them. And on cue, Damon broke it with ease, "_So_, my little witch cares about me huh?"

Bonnie sighed, he could hear the roll of her eyes in her voice, "Don't push it Damon."

"Push what? Before long you'll probably fall for me too. I wouldn't blame you, of course."

"And you pushed it. Bye Damon."

"Hey, thank you. For doing this for me, I owe you,."

Bonnie turned and looked at him, furrowing her brows before a ghost of a smile graced her lips, "Yes. You do. But really, I didn't just do it for you, y'know. Elena's life was in danger."

"As usual but you helped me too this time. As long as Elena never comes back to Mystic Falls she _was_ safe. _I_ was the one in danger this time…and I know I don't deserve you—you helping me and all."

Bonnie looked him over again, her car's horn honking for her to hurry up. Bonnie snapped her fingers and she could hear a muffled yelp from her vehicle.

Damon raised an eyebrow at her, "Did you…just zap her?"

She shrugged, grinning, "If anything else happens don't hesitate to call okay?"

Turning on her heel she left Damon by his front door's threshold, watching her get in the car, turn on the headlights of her car and her speeding off into the darkness. He re-entered his home, closing the door behind him to finally feel like he had his place to himself again.

_You care for such an abomination?_

_I…Yes. I do care about him._

Damon felt like he needed a glass of his best alcoholic beverage and celebrate. If he could make someone like _Judgey_ care about him who needs Elena's love? Bonnie had rightfully _hated _him some time ago and now, in the face of a fellow crazy witch that looked like his past obsessions, she confessed to caring about him despite it all.

Of course, he's sure that she still has some residual feelings of resentment towards him about certain things he had done indirectly (and him biting her but he was attacking Emily not _her_ per se) towards her, he felt with what she said tonight he could go to her and apologize.

Years overdue but an apology is still an apology.

…he hates apologizing.

But it's Bonnie. And if there's one thing about her, she's loyal to the skin of her teeth and if you're in her good graces there _was_ some sort of worth she saw in you. Most of the time Damon always figured the ones Bonnie would die for didn't deserve it at all because what had they done for _her_ exactly? Well, he couldn't necessarily talk either but she might be willing to die for him too after what he learned about her feelings for him tonight.

Wait. She might actually _die_ for him_. He's actually worth that to her._

That made him happier than it ought to.

And then he felt guilty because, again, _he didn't really deserve that kind of loyalty from her._

But wasn't that what he wanted from her? A truce? What better a truce than her absolute loyalty?

Well, then, he feels like Idonea was right. That she was life and he'll be using her, sucking the very life out of her because that was all he was good at as a vampire.

He huffed, agitated, laying back on his king sized bed. He was sounding like his brother. The thought alone made him gag.

This can't possibly be what Stefan actually thinks when concerning Elena.

He never really felt obligated to _really_ changing for Elena seeing as she forgave him no matter what. That didn't stop her from expecting him to be all ready to repent and be a better man like his brother. To see the importance of life like his brother. To _be_ more like his brother.

He be damned to do any of that for Elena. Her wishing he would be like his brother wasn't enough and apparently not even her half-assed acceptance of his behavior was either.

But with Bonnie…he actually kind of _wanted_ to be the kind of guy that deserved her unwavering loyalty and care. Because she deserved it. Not saying Elena didn't deserve that…because she does…she has his brother. But when it came to Bonnie he valued her opinion, he took what she said, especially when it concerned him, to heart. Like her, he was willing to give all of him for women like Katherine and Elena and yet, no matter what, his all _still_ wasn't enough because he _wasn't his little brother_. Bonnie was willing to give her all for her friends, for the guys she "loved" and it still ended up with her either being cheated on by a ghost, getting betrayed, or she ended up getting hurt emotionally or physically without much of a thank you from those that she had helped.

He noticed it, yeah, but he never really thought about how similar their situations were; one more selfish than the other. He'll admit he was selfish. He wanted the love of those women all to himself and he was _very_ willing to do whatever it took to get it…except he tend to lose himself in the process. With Katherine he still ended up sharing her, chasing after her, trying to be in some case _like her_ because he figured that way she would reciprocate his love for her if he was more _like her_. But who knew the evil woman wanted Stefan? That it will always _be_ Stefan.

Same difference with Elena. He'll do as she told, he allowed her to manipulate him so that she could get to Stefan someway, somehow, and even though they made out at the motel that one time she took Stefan to that school dance right after. All he could hear her say was his love for her _was_ the problem.

And then there's Bonnie, who never expected any less of him because she knew he _was_ capable of being a better person, that he was capable of changing but she never outwardly forced him to. She never compared him to his brother. She never felt like she had to manipulate him to do anything. And, really, whenever he was around her he never felt like he had to put up some faux goody-two-shoes front for her. He did recall, however, being on his best behavior around her because he _wanted_ to and because Bonnie expected no less than that. He didn't feel like he _had_ to either.

Stroking his chin, he felt for his cell phone with his free hand. He wondered if Sabrina would appreciate an apology in text form. Should, "Hey. I'm sorry for f*cking sh*t up for you ever since we met" be enough of an acceptable apology?

The thought disappeared when he saw that there was a new message from her awaiting for him already. That tight feeling of anticipation returned as he opened the text to only frown and get up from the bed, speeding down to his vehicle:

**Damon. Come quick. Something's wrong with Taylor. She's bleeding from her eyes and nose. **

* * *

><p>"I think you two got something going on. There, I said it."<p>

The two stopped by the Grille to pick up something quick to eat, and just made it back to Bonnie's house. The entire ride to and back from the Grille, Bonnie caught Taylor smirking at her with an all-knowing sneaky glint in her eyes and no matter how many times Bonnie probed, Taylor wouldn't explain the looks she gave her…until now of course.

Bonnie choked on her sprite, "Wha—what?"

"You heard me. You two got something going on. Even the evil spirit witch lady caught on to it." Taylor sat her bag of food down on the table in the kitchen as she continued to grin smugly at the older witch.

"You're crazy."

"I'm _right_. Look. It's cool if you have a thing for him. I won't judge."

"You _couldn't stand him this morning_, what the _hell_?"

Taylor shrugged, "He's easier to stand when he's around you. _And_ he believed in my power. I don't trust him completely but he's a lot better than a lot of other vamps."

Bonnie groaned, "Please, he's just a friend."

"Okay. Whatever. You know, he stares at you _a lot_."

"Shut up Taylor."

"And he knows how to kick you into gear. You were _great_ by the way today. Many thanks to the both of you."

Bonnie rolled her eyes as she sat across from her friend.

Taylor nibbled on a French fry, watching her friend before she ate it completely, taking a quick swig of her coke, "Look, I still don't like what he did in the past when it came to you but…he did thank you more than your other friends did—"

"Taylor…" Bonnie warned.

"Just like you haven't fully forgiven him for turning your mom and all."

Bonnie stared down at her burger.

Taylor watched her before continuing, "But you still call him a friend, despite it. And he did save your life."

"Did Idonea show you what he did to Abby?"

"Yeah," Taylor sat back, "But hey. We won. She sucked. No worries. And you have a week to do whatever you want with Damon."

Bonnie narrowed her eyes at Taylor.

The younger witch smirked, "Don't get mad at me that you and him get off with arguing and flirting with each other in my presence all the time."

"You're enjoying this a little too much."

"Can you blame me? We beat the bad guy. We should be celebrating."

Bonnie frowned and Taylor caught it before she could give her a straight face, "What? You look like we didn't."

"…It just seemed…a little too easy if you ask me."

"Yo, she totally was able to _touch me_ and grab me by the _neck_. Not to mention she had to bring up…" She stopped, deciding against finishing, "She knew too much. It wasn't _that _easy."

Bonnie nodded, "Yeah…if you say so."

"I know so. Me almost being possessed twice and physically assaulted and all."

Bonnie frowned again, "If you want…you can go back home…."

"And miss you and vamp boy have a heart-to-heart on how your antagonistic relationship turns into that of pure _luv_?"

"Shut. The. _F*ck_. Up," Bonnie threw a French fry at her face.

Taylor laughed, "_Rude_ much? Okay. I _apologize._"

They finished their food and went their separate ways to get ready for bed. What Taylor said about Damon did have some truth to it. Despite it all, Damon was still important to her. He tended to be the one who didn't doubt her when it came to her magic, and when he knew that it proved to be a bit much he would either encourage her or come up with an alternative plan for her. Most importantly, he's the only one who has thanked her the most for what she does even if she didn't really do it for him.

She won't admit it but having Damon's support did give her a confidence boost. Whenever she would give the gang her plan her eyes would turn to look at the dark haired man for his approval first. Whether it was a nod or him saying with conviction that he was, "Team Bonnie" it always made her smile on the inside to know that he, out of them all, supported her because he was the one who she felt had to prove she was a good witch to…a better witch than Emily.

To be able to be good at one thing that Elena or Caroline could never be able to do. Both of her best friends could nab the boys, but Bonnie Bennett _saved their lives._ But it seemed that as time progressed, Damon was turning out to be the only one who believed in her magic one hundred percent. Not even Elena, in the last days of Bonnie finally packing it in and leaving, supported her when it came to her magic like Damon did. Saying little things like, "_You're not done yet?" _or "_I thought this was a simple spell?"_ Which was funny, considering she was the one that came to her when things looked grim.

And they always looked grim. Always.

Stripping off her clothes, Bonnie sighed at the thought of Elena. She loved her friend to death but she made sure to never comment on her relationship with the Salvatore brothers and how wrong she thought they _all_ were on their love triangle. How she wanted to shake both brothers by the shoulders and tell them that they needed to step away from everything that was girls and focus on _their relationship instead._ That putting Elena, though she loved her, on this pedestal to _win_ was part of the reason that they were in this mess to begin with. That you would think that them looking at how toxic the relationship between Klaus and Elijah was would be clue enough that fighting and competing over the love for doppelganger ass wasn't healthy at all.

That Damon, _that man._

She sighed dramatically as she pulled her hair into a ponytail and looked in her dresser for nightclothes, _that man_, _needed to act his age_. Here he was, whipped over Elena, a teenage girl, who was, in truth, stringing them along. Oh how Bonnie hoped and begged to the heavens that Elena had just chosen herself above all than to pick either one of the Salvatores. Why couldn't they just take time away from each other? Why did they have to go with that sort of heartache and trouble?

Especially Damon. He was so smart when around her. So sure and _himself _around her but everything falls short when Elena came in the room and he was immediately willing to throw everyone under the bus to keep _her_ safe. Which would only make Elena want to stay away from him more—or not. Elena began to like that sort of attention. Damon's love was admirable (and intimidating to boot), Bonnie could admit and even say made her envious of Elena a bit that she was getting that sort of attention from him but he needed to learn that he didn't always need to compete with his brother for the girl to show that he was _better _than his brother. But it wasn't Bonnie's place to voice these thoughts to them. She just wanted them safe.

Bonnie put on a tank and shorts for bed and headed to the bathroom. Elena meant well. Bonnie felt she made the right decision in picking Stefan but she did feel a bit peeved that both brothers had to be strung along before she could make that decision. Especially Damon. So smart but so dumb. One would think that being with Katherine and finding out she technically ruined your life would be enough to not go fighting over another girl that looked _exactly_ like her. And, yet again, chose the same brother over you. One would think.

Bonnie started brushing her teeth deciding that was enough thinking about Damon, Stefan, and Elena when she felt the urge to look up in the mirror. When she did she didn't see her intended reflection. She saw Taylor instead who looked very disturbed. She watched Taylor touch the blood that fell from her right nostril and soon her left before blood pooled at her eyelids and fell as well.

She wasn't sure whom it was that screamed. It was probably both Taylor and herself. She didn't know and she didn't care as she ran out of her bathroom to get to the younger witch, texting the first person she always ended up texting when things turned for the worst.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: And what's to happen next? Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**See You Soon**

"I'm fine."

"Then explain the blood coming from your eyes."

"I don't _know_. Maybe it's from over exertion. That tends to happen to us witches, Bonnie."

"Yeah, I know, _Taylor_, but I never bled from my eyes."

Taylor frowned, looking to the ceiling as she cleaned the blood from the corner of her tear ducts. Bonnie stood over her as Damon stood by Bonnie's kitchen entrance, arms crossed as he observed the two quietly. Bonnie looked to him promptly before turning back to Taylor, "Do you think it was Idonea?"

"No. We exorcised her."

"Then what happened?"

"I don't _know, Bonnie,"_ Taylor snapped, her temper flaring.

Bonnie cut her eyes at the younger witch, ready to snap back before the lone vampire pushed himself from the door frame to Bonnie's kitchen to literally step into the middle of the discourse, "Now, now ladies. Everyone needs to calm down—"

"We _are_ calm_," _Both women regarded him.

"Right."

Taylor sucked her teeth and glared to the bloody washcloth. She had been bleeding from both nostrils and eyes up until Damon came in five minutes ago. He was right about needing to calm down but could one blame them? Nosebleeds were common but _eyes?_ It would be odd not to be on edge and a little creeped out.

"I'm sorry," Taylor mumbled, "But there's nothing to worry about. It's just my body finally reacting to the exorcism. Every witch's body is different and may respond differently to over exertion."

"So are you saying you've bled from your eyes before?" Bonnie asked unconvinced.

Taylor didn't answer.

There was an awkward silence for a minute and Damon meant to break it to only have Taylor beat him to it by her standing to her feet to go to the bathroom, "I'm fine Bonnie. Just drop it."

Once she left Bonnie sighed and looked to Damon who turned to her contemplating something.

"Sorry for making you come over…I panicked."

Damon shrugged, "I got used to you depending on me when things get like this."

"Arrogant much?"

"No. Just an observation."

Bonnie opened her mouth to retort but realized he had a point. She then shrugged, "Okay. But I don't depend on you _that_ much."

Damon examined her and shook his head in the negative, "I wouldn't call you _dependant_ per se. We feed on each other—no pun intended."

Bonnie raised an eyebrow.

"…okay. There was a pun."

Bonnie pursed her lips, eyebrow not moving.

"…and an innuendo. Look. We depend on each other."

"I don't need you."

It was Damon's turn to raise an eyebrow as his lips made an "o" shape and a hand lifted to his chest to feign hurt, "_Well_! You could've fooled me with how urgent your text was for me to come over."

"I panicked."

"And you _needed_ me in your time of panic. Nothing wrong with that."

"Shut up."

"Only because you asked."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and looked to where Taylor's room was before motioning Damon to follow her outside to her porch. Damon followed without a word until they made it outside, "I hope this isn't your way of kicking me out when I just got here."

"No…" the young woman Damon had grown to admire and value when it came to her better judgment bit her lip for a second and then looked up to him, her stare firm, "I actually want you to stay the night."

"…_what?_"

"Don't sound too excited."

Damon blinked, "No—I-I'm just—wasn't expecting my little Judgey saying _that_ particular phrase to yours truly."

"It's not like I'm asking you to sleep with me."

Damon crossed his arms to look her up and down. Bonnie fidgeted under his gaze, "What?"

"Nothing. Don't knock such possibilities before even giving me the benefit of the doubt. Sleeping with me would be a magical experience…for your benefit of course."

"You're an ass."

"Hee, haw."

"Could you be serious for a minute Damon? This is serious."

"I am being serious. You're the one turning me down from sleeping with you."

Bonnie's face flushed a shade darker, "_Damon_."

"You're cute when you blush, witch."

She glared and lifted her chin as the vampire put a hand to his head before grunting at her, "_Bonnie_—"

She put her small hands on her hips, her vampire glaring holes at her, "Was that _necessary?_ An aneurysm for flirting with you?"

Bonnie's heart skipped a bit which Damon caught, making him smirk, "You're not used to guys flirting with—"

"I am. But I'm trying to ask you for help and you're playing too much."

Damon frowned, looking down for a millisecond before looking directly in her eyes, "Guys flirt with you a lot?"

Bonnie raised a brow, ready to retort with a "What are you? Jealous?" but decided against it. Instead she went on ahead and asked what she planned on asking since bringing him outside, "Could you keep your ears open for Taylor? She's as stubborn as all get out—and proud. Too proud. She won't admit that something's bothering her when it comes to her well being."

Damon looked at Bonnie, "You trust me enough to keep an eye on Taylor when you can't?

Bonnie held his gaze, breathing evenly, "Am I asking for too much?"

"No."

"Well…thank you. I appreciate it Damon. Really."

Damon merely nodded as the two stared at one another for a beat longer. He moved a little closer to her as she held her breath and moved towards her door, "I'm going to head to bed. Thanks again for your help Damon."

He followed in after her, watching her go up the stairs, "No problem."

Feeling eyes, he turned to find the younger witch of the hour sitting on the living room couch staring in front of her blankly.

Had Bonnie seen her when she came in, Damon wondered as he plopped beside her. Taylor showed no hint of acknowledging him so he decided to break her focus, "So, Bons just appointed me to baby-sit you."

Okay. Not really. But her acting like an inanimate object was a tad bit disarming.

She wasn't possessed was she?

"Taylor?"

"I'm fine," Taylor stood, giving Damon a de ja vu feeling in his gut.

"Sure about that? Evidence shows you're the opposite."

"There is a such thing as false evidence," Taylor paused, blinking and shaking her head to look down at the man, "What?"

"You're acting weird."

Taylor rolled her eyes, "I'm always weird. Elaborate."

"And now you're back to normal."

Taylor pouted in annoyance, "Whatever. I'm really getting tired of you two treating me like I'm a child."

"That's totally not what a child would say."

Taylor narrowed her eyes at him, marching to her room, "And for the record I do _not_ need to be babysat."

A door slammed shut behind her as Damon groaned. Bonnie owed him for this.

* * *

><p>Taylor opened her eyes to find herself sitting on the floor, back against the wall, facing her bed opposite of her. Small streams of moonlight informed her it was still clearly night time but her room being this cold only made her shake in place. She didn't move to see the presence sitting beside her.<p>

_There's a reason why you didn't fully get rid of me._

Taylor swallowed.

_Is it because you did agree with me after all?_

"No," The young witch whispered.

_I think you're lying. How about…we help each other out?_

Taylor finally turned to her left to see the faint visage of Idonea who gave the younger witch her full attention.

_You give me a vessel and I'll help you avenge your family._

Taylor grinned, turning away from the ghost, "No."

…_and why not?_

"I'll avenge my family…on my _own_ terms."

_You didn't rid of me, Taylor._

"My luck."

Idonea turned to face forward, _Well…you got yourself one hell of a problem on your hands young _witch.

Taylor let out an even breath, agreeing mentally to herself, "It wouldn't be fun if you _weren't_ a challenge."

The original doppelganger chuckled darkly, the two sitting quietly. It could even be mistaken for something comfortable.

_You're going to wish you were on my side, little _girl_. All of that pent up hatred and hostility—You know Bonnie would never agree to your true intentions of this Paranormal Investigation team you two have._

"Bonnie won't agree…but she'll understand."

…_Even if you lose yourself in the process?_

"…I'm already lost."

* * *

><p>Bonnie could feel herself wake, her body getting enough rest. That tends to be the case for her and possibly one of the reasons why she didn't necessarily rely on her alarm clock to wake her. Groaning at her blurry vision and numb limbs, she rolled to her side to find Damon lounging easily on the other half of her bed.<p>

She stared at him for a long moment before watching him groan and nearly falling out of bed. In between his moaning she could make out him begging her to stop.

"What gave you the impression you could just lay in my bed like you own the place?" Bonnie replied, stopping his mental attack with blinking and sitting up in her bed.

"I don't know…us being close?" the man grunted.

"We're not that close," She climbed out of bed to go to her bathroom.

"Elena never hurt me when I did that."

She didn't know why, but that pricked a nerve.

"Well I'm _not_ Elena_._ Get out of my room Damon," with that she entered her bathroom, locking the door behind her like that would actually stop a vampire from entering. At least it was a comforting thought.

Upon turning on the shower she could hear Damon call from behind the door, "Hey, Judgey! That wasn't meant to piss you off."

She wanted to yell back that she wasn't mad at all but then she thought against it. Rather not give him the satisfaction.

"Oh so you're just going to ignore me? Didn't see _that_ coming."

And he pricked another nerve.

Entering the shower, she made sure to keep the water from her hair, that would have to wait for when she can dedicate an entire afternoon for her tresses.

"Boonniiieeee~"

What was she thinking giving him the okay to stay the night?

"You know…my heart breaks when we're fighting."

Scratch that, what was she thinking giving him the okay to enter _both _of her homes?

After cleaning herself and doing the rest of her morning routine for satisfactory personal hygiene, she wrapped herself in her towel with a death grip, knowing the vampire hadn't left her bedroom at all.

She came out of the bathroom, glaring into an empty room. Raising both brows in shock, she stopped and rolled her eyes to turn to her right, "Not surprised."

"You were at first—"

"If only you actually left my room. But hey, you're still here," Bonnie deadpanned, walking into her room fully, "You can leave now."

"I can't stay and watch?" Damon pouted, his eyes looking over her body, imagining what used to be unimaginable things that he wouldn't admit out loud any time soon in concerning a very naked Bonnie under that demon of a towel.

Bonnie turned to him, a smirk gracing her lips, making Damon feel a want in his loins to come closer to her and—

"Get out. _Now_."

And if that wasn't enough to kick him out, she moved her arm to throw him out of her room with that witchy ju-ju of hers. Time, and time again, no matter when and where, Damon honestly couldn't get enough of her rough housing him around.

She is, after all, the only one who could get away with that sort of thing.

The vampire was on his feet again to speed back into her room just because he was in that kind of mood, to only have her slam her door in his face with a flick of her finger as the towel fell unwillingly from around her.

He gaped. He could've actually—and it wouldn't be his fault—he couldn't believe—

"_Dammit."_

"You're a perv."

Damon's face fell flat, turning to the younger witch who held some old worn hardcover books. They were probably her grimoires.

"And you're up here because…?"

Taylor shrugged, "I was going to talk to Bonnie about what happened to me last night."

Damon, half-interested, looked at her fully, leaning against the hallway wall, "Well?"

Taylor raised a brow, "I don't think you're really interested—"

"Try me."

Taylor cocked her head in suspicion before shrugging a shoulder again, "It was my body reacting to being over exerted—_like I said_. It happens especially during exorcisms, more so when it's a bad spirit."

"She wasn't a demon though, right?"

"Right. But she was dabbling with dark magic."

"Well, how come Bonnie wasn't affected?"

Taylor pursed her lips, "That's what I wanted to talk to her about."

"Might as well go on ahead and tell me."

Taylor sighed, "Not to burst your bubble…but you're not Bonnie."

"Your point? I'd still like to know what's going on with my lil' witch."

"Bonnie isn't some object that belongs to you. Just so you know."

"I know."

"And if I wasn't crazy, I'd think you actually _liked_ Bonnie."

"I do."

Taylor raised a brow, "Well…more than just a typical platonic friend."

"Like what?" Damon made a face of incredulity, "…_love?"_

"That's a bit extreme—but…"

"Yeah. You're crazy."

Taylor looked him over, analyzing him before shrugging, "Whatever, bro. Anyways. I guess I can say that the main reason for her not being affected is because she's more experienced and strong and she didn't really exorcise anyone. She supported me with her magic."

"There's more to that mini-witch. If there wasn't, you wouldn't need to talk to Bonnie alone."

"_So o_bservant," Taylor dragged.

Damon held her glare.

"…has she dabbled in dark magic before?"

Damon didn't expect the question, "Huh?"

Taylor turned to Bonnie's door, "If she dabbled in dark magic before it could also mean that her body was just used to the exorcism and the nature of getting rid of an entity that messed in dark magic."

Damon didn't reply, watching Taylor wince a little. She then looked back at him upon feeling his eyes on her, "So I'm taking that as a 'yes'? A 'maybe' even?"

Damon still didn't answer.

"…it's not like I'll judge her but she should be careful next time…if there is one thing…dark magic recognizes dark magic…or dark intent. Tends to flock to it."

Damon watched her harder, "Are you…okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Taylor turned to him fully, almost in a challenging way.

The vampire only raised a brow and was going to retort when Bonnie's door opened, distracting them both.

Bonnie looked at both of her companions in question, "…what's going on?"

Taylor looked down to her grimoires and then to Damon before muttering a, "Nothing."

The young witch headed back downstairs leaving the older adults to watch her back, one in suspicion and the other in bemusement.

"What was that about?"

"I don't know. She's _your_ daughter."

"Quit it Damon."

* * *

><p>"…Ok Jer…I love you too…talk to you soon…Bye," The dark brown haired young woman hung up on her younger brother as she turned to look at Stefan who was sleeping with a content look on his face. She smiled to herself as she climbed into bed with him and treated his chest like a pillow, looking up at him like she used to do when things weren't so complicated.<p>

"Mm…staring again?"

"Mmhm."

"You don't think I'm being serious when I say that's creepy?" Stefan murmured, a grin on his lips.

"When are you never serious?" Elena countered, giggling in that breathless way of hers.

Stefan made a face of defeat before opening an eye to look down at her.

"How's Jer?"

"He's great. Safe."

The vampire nodded, "That's good."

"Have you…talked to Damon?"

Stefan's grin turned sad.

"You don't have to answer that…"

"I think he's okay for the most part…but…no…I haven't."

"…You miss him?"

Stefan's sad grin turned into a line.

"…Never mind."

"No. It's ok."

Another beat of silence.

"Yeah. I do."

Elena felt guilty all of a sudden. She knows Stefan knows her feelings about the both of them. Damon was important to her, yes. She loved him, yes. But it was never more than that taste of the stereotypical bad boy flare. She could admit that she was sexually attracted to Damon. What woman wasn't?

_Bonnie._

Okay. Besides Bon—

Elena sighed sadly. _Bonnie._

Stefan pulled strands from Elena's face, realizing her mood had also depleted, "You're alright?"

"You know I'm sorry…about you…and Damon. And how fickle I was and—"

"Woah, woah, Elena," Stefan sat up to look at her more closely, bringing her to sit up as well, "Damon and I had a problem _before _you. You don't need to apologize for anything."

"But I was stringing you both along and—I'm just sorry that I'm still part of the reason why you two don't talk as much now."

Stefan sighed, shaking his head, "Elena…I don't want to talk about that. It's not your fault what's going on between Damon and I."

Elena frowned but nodded despite how much she disagreed with him. She was older now. She can look back at what she had done when it came to the Salvatore brothers and each time she frowned and thought how she was no better than Katherine.

It was always Stefan.

It will always be Stefan.

But it didn't stop her from leading Damon on like that and then inevitably doing the same thing to Stefan. She knew Stefan forgave her and would much rather not linger on the past but the past seemed to linger over them instead.

Here they were, together, away from Damon, Bonnie doing her own thing in North Carolina and the two hardly having that much contact, and Carebear and Tyler in Florida—

Elena planted a kiss on Stefan's lips, grinning somberly as her cell phone rung for her attention. She looked at the caller id to see an unrecognizable number blaring on her screen. Glancing at Stefan, he only nodded and lay back silently. Elena climbed out of bed and answered, "Hello?"

"Is this Elena?"

Elena stopped, feeling a chill run down her back, "This is she…"

"Hello…I think you ought to come back to Mystic Falls_._"

Elena frowned, sensing Stefan sit back up, able to hear the person on her phone. He watched Elena in question, furrowing his brows.

"Why? Is there something wrong with Damon?"

"He is in the line of fire…but so is your friend Bonnie. It seems they got themselves in a bit of trouble_._"

"With who?"

"With me. And you're the only one that can save them_._"

Elena let out a steady breath, holding her phone tightly, "Bonnie's in North Carolina. She wouldn't come back to Mystic Falls."

"Elena. Dear. Do you really want to risk being wrong in that sentiment? I'm able to watch her eat, sleep, talk…does it matter whether she's in Mystic Falls or in North Carolina?_."_

Elena hesitated but headed to get her jacket before she pulled out a bag to start packing things, "Who are you? What do you want with Bonnie and Damon?"

"I'm not sure you're in any kind of authority to question me. I just suggest you come back to Mystic Falls. The quicker you are, the safer they'll end up being_._"

Elena's breath caught in her throat, "Ok. Just don't do anything to Bonnie."

There was a long pause before a content sigh could be heard with a hint of a grin, "See you soon, Elena."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: Welp. And the plot thickens? I couldn't come up with anything else to say. BUT! Thank you for all of the reviews for the previous chapters! I do appreciate every single one of them. Even if there's just one it motivates me enough to continue haha. Reviews are my power drink. I digress. Tell me what you all think! <strong>


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